Ontario Says No Beds for Canadian Victoria George-Pazzano

When Victoria George-Pazzano, 29, fell ill after a severe asthma attack last Tuesday while on vacation in Cancun she was placed on life support. Her family wants her to come home to Ontario. The only problem is that no hospital in Ontario will accept her.

George-Pazzano has travel insurance that will pay the costs of her medical evacuation to Toronto. Her husband, Dylan Pazzano says that because of the fear of swine flu no hospitals will accept his wife. He wants his son, 5, to be able to spend some time with his mother before she passes away.

“I am disgusted, I am ashamed right now to call myself Canadian,” he told CBC News in a telephone interview from Mexico. “There’s no words to describe what I am going through right now.”

Pazzano has been told that there isn’t a ICU bed available in southern Ontario for his wife. The family’s insurance company has searched for a bed from East York to Hamilton and they have been unable to locate a bed.

That’s not the case says the Ministry of Health. There are no shortages of ICU beds in Southern Ontario nor are there any prohibitions placed on transporting patients from Mexico to Toronto.

“The bottom line is that a Canadian was waiting to be repatriated and there was not a hospital in the province of Ontario, certainly not in the GTA, that was willing to receive her. That’s the tragedy here,” said member of provincial parliament Frank Klees.

Klees has tried to help the family bring Victoria home without success.

When Digital Journal contacted Jennifer Gougeon, Public Affairs Assistant of the University Health Network which includes Toronto Western Hospital and Toronto General Hospital was unaware of the case. On a return call she said that she would get back to us with any information. She was not sure if at this time there are beds available in the ICU unit.

Frank Klees, MPP for Newmarket is on the road and can’t return calls at this time.

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